I think it's time to honour machines that somehow elude the harsh spotlight of eminence because, like the flinty-eyed glare of a livid girlfriend, this is actually not a bad spotlight to elude. And as an old hand at buying less-than-popular motorcycles and, for that matter, eliciting female fury, I obviously applaud the general principle of spending less to enjoy more.But legion are those who fear the chorus of peer group snickering that may accompany their first outing on something unfashionable more than they relish the inner smarm of a buoyant bank account. The Japs have long since recognised this and done their damnedest to replicate the looks and the performance of their bigger, faster machinery down through the capacity range. And when pushed, they'll cheaply copy another marque's successful formula, usually with mixed results, e.g. Suzuki's cut-price-Ducati v-twins, or Kawasaki with their faux Bonneville, the W650. That I'd personally own a reliable Jap copy rather than a frail and temperamental original cuts no ice with the cognoscenti, or Brand Junkie Fruitcakes as I prefer to call them. But even blinkered purists can't conquer the 'boracic biker' argument.
Being skint does, of course, come with its own mantle of shame, but it's easily shed if it spawns the sort of guile that gets you pleasuring yourself on two wheels when all else has failed. After a lengthy, albeit enforced hiatus from bikery, it took me some time to learn these ropes, fundamental to which was the realisation that all motorcycles are in fact the same. (Unless they are a scooter which, as my regular reader will know, is what I've been putting up with for far too long). They go fast, they wobble if unduly provoked and they will not protect you if you make a Big Mistake and crash 'em. Don't agree? Well then buy a Mondeo, chump.
So I don't have any problem shunning swanky modes when penury is my mistress.
Having said which, it's damn hard finding any bike capable of delivering Big Fun for under a grand that doesn't also need work... or a king's ransom in insurance cover. Consider therefore what exactly it is you want from your machinery and consider it hard, because breaking the bonds of fashion can save you money whether you're spending six grand or six hundred.
Let's get performance out of the way first. You're probably as sick as I am of hearing that outright top speed is irrelevant on today's public roads and 0-60 and Standing Quarter times aren't far behind (but if they are, lower your gearing or buy a big trailie). However, although there are 250 and even 125cc machines that can provide wheelies on demand for traffic light brigands, you've got to start looking above 350cc if real world travel is on your agenda, and you want a character-laden bike which you can learn to love. Which you do, believe me, you do. Unwilling to second guess what the staff have up their well muscled sleeves elsewhere in this issue, I'm not going to catalogue the new bike bargains in the middleweight dept., but with only slightly less mid-range than a trendy supersports 600 and much lower insurance, a well chosen 8 year-old Kawa ZXR400 will cost you a mere grand. And if you really must have something 600-ish, then be daring and find yourself a Laverda 650 Sport for similar dosh.
Not got a grand ? Well neither had I, but I did have decade-old copies of various bike magazines I used to throw together, and careful perusal thereof elicited performance details and (possibly now regretted) editorial enthusiasms which proved a worthy route map.
So that's what I searched for and in the process discovered another truism of unconventional bike buying: forget about MCN or Bike Trader because they are used by vendors desperate to cash-in their mollycoddled pride'n'joy (and thus want top money) or desperate to unload a dog (and thus want to rip you off). But local newspapers, whilst they mightn't have a lot of choice, are for lazy vendors who don't have the confidence to put their wares up against the pros. Or try downmarket monthlies like Used Bike Guide which are patronised by real bikers who, because of lengthy lead times, aren't usually too desperate but might just be impressed by a wad of cash and the promise of a good home. Which is how I came to buy a M-reg GPz500S with some 15k miles and lots of T & T on it for £650 -haggled down from £950 from a nice young woman who'd recently bought a Thundercat and didn't like two bikes sitting outside her flat, poor darling.
Passe? Perhaps. But aesthetically pleasing and comfy enough, tough as old boots and delivered me from the West End to my Welsh hovel just as fast as it did on my old K75S, but with a bigger smile on my face.
Which at the end of the road is really all that matters.